I would have to agree with most of the items on the list, such as the impending movement of focus to more local breweries, for those lucky enough to have a selection. Although there are plenty of people that have the passion but lack the technical knowledge to produce good beer. (Disclaimer: I am not perfect and have had a batch or two turn out not so great due to my lack of control of some variable).

Thank you for sharing this article. I honestly feel like every point the author made is very true. I feel like this should almost be a sticky that every new member of the forum should read to help get some perspective. I really don't want the world of craft brewing to become as exclusive and haughty as the world of fine wine, and I see an underlying theme in the article of this happening.

"My face is permanently puckered from hop bomb brews and those funky Belgian beers taste like old socks. -

I'm dying for a Bud."

__________________Whether beer is made in waders or in a toilet tank, as long as it is fun and the brewer likes how it tastes, who cares how it is brewed?
- VladOfTrubAdd your water analysis to the water report map! Instructions on this thread

This is a great article. The only thing that surprised me was the "all brewers are white" section. I don't think I've ever pondered on the race of the brewmaster while sipping a pint, craft or macro. The rest of 'em I agree with.

I used to write beer reviews on BA, and while it was really great for developing my palate, I could have accomplished the same thing with a notebook or Word file. The description of it being like Yelp for beer is a good comparison, and as much as I'd love to get my hands on some Heady Topper thanks to the hype, I'm rarely let down when I visit my local breweries for what they make.

This is a great article. The only thing that surprised me was the "all brewers are white" section. I don't think I've ever pondered on the race of the brewmaster while sipping a pint, craft or macro. The rest of 'em I agree with.

I used to write beer reviews on BA, and while it was really great for developing my palate, I could have accomplished the same thing with a notebook or Word file. The description of it being like Yelp for beer is a good comparison, and as much as I'd love to get my hands on some Heady Topper thanks to the hype, I'm rarely let down when I visit my local breweries for what they make.

I want some Heady Topper for the yeast. And the beer. But mostly the yeast.

Honestly, I never thought about Craft brewers all being white. I guess craft is like the NHL of beer.

Then again, how many black people brew for Big Beer?? How many women brew for craft breweries? How many Asians??

I'd like to see a list of ways minorities are prohibited from becoming good brewers, or for getting brewer positions in a beer company. I suspect that there just aren't that many minorities interested in learning how to brew good beer and make a career out of it.

I really hate the irrational claims based on how many Whites, Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, women/men are in a certain field. It is a logical fallacy, if few of a race, ethnicity or gender take part in an activity, to blame the activity, or those who take part in it, of being racist. I guess we could say: "No men are seen by gynecologists, so there must be some conspiracy against men among gynecologists."

As for the stuff about drunkenness, etc. I have been brewing since 2004 and have enjoyed craft brews since long before that time. The last time I got even close to drunk was in 1991.

__________________
"So you say you just brewed your first batch of beer. Welcome to the obsession." --me, to every first time brewer I ever meet.

Pretty interesting article, but one little quibble I have is that the author seems to appreciate conformity to a bit. He (or she) wants one simple definition for IPA or trumpeting the Weihenstephan even though it has kind of stifled creativity in Germany a little bit.

Or the complaint that craft breweries experiment too much. I don't necessarily disagree with that, but they do need to experiment a bit. For the Inland So Cal folks, Hangar 24 has a pretty stable line up of their "flagship" styles. They nailed the Orange Wheat, the Alt-Bier is pretty good, Chocolate Porter is freaking amazing, the IPAs are pretty good, etc and they all taste pretty damn consistent. Their seasonal beer is a dubbel brewed with dates right now. Haven't tried it, but it seems a little experimental to me and it could be great.

I would like to see a couple of the local breweries really focus on making at least one good beer. My buddies and I went to a place a few months back where everything had like crazy high ABVs and it just wasn't enjoyable (and we love Stone as a group, so we aren't opposed to higher ABVs). It seemed like the place was more interested in making big beers rather than making good beers.